Originally Posted by cal40john
If you can't relate to my windsurfer story, try it on a dinghy like a Laser. Grab the boom with your hand and pull the sail to weather and head up from sailing close hauled.

Alternately, in light air, get the dinghy stablized close hauled and lift the daggerboard.

If the airs aren't light you'll practice capsize drill. If you keep the dinghy right side up you will definitely be sailing sideways.

What I wanted people to see with my experiment was that even with the daggerboard down, the boat will slide sideways surprisingly quickly if there is no attached flow (lift). The surface area of the blade being dragged sideways through the water makes a lot less drag than you would think if you're used to how little leeway you make when the blade is making lift.